Frankfurter wrapping machine



Jan. 13, 1953 T. J. c. CHAPMAN ETAL 2,624,991

FRANKFURTER WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1948 2 SHEETS SHEET l "m MQgms h cnfors. T/zomas J C'- Chap nary fiGQ iDGZfiQL Eram/oq WATTc/u/s T.J. c. CHAPMAN ET AL 2,624,991

FRANKFURTEIR WRAPPING MACHINE Jan. 13, 1953 2 SHEETS-Sl-[EIET 2 FiledApril 25, 1948 [nvznfors T/zomas c/C flap/M 2 Harr- G/{OLZ Era/2J0? 5,J64 rs;

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANKFURTER WRAPPINGMACHINE Thomas J. C. Chapman, Chicago, Harry G. Holtz, Oak Lawn, andBrandon S. Jenison, Chicago, 111., assignors to Swift & Company,Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application April 2 5, 1949,Serial No. 89,472

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a wrapping machine and more particularly to amethod and apparatus for folding and sealing a wrapper around aplurality of generally cylindrical articles such as frankfurters and thelike.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedmethod and apparatus therefor for folding and sealing a wrapper around aplurality of articles of generally cylindrical shape such asfrankfurters.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of simplifiedconstruction in which a one-pound unit of frankfurters, for example, isWeighed out, wrapped in a sheet of heat-sealable transparent materialand thereafter heat sealed.

Other objects will be apparent from the description and claims whichfollow.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus of the presentinvention.

Figure 2 is a view, partly in section, taken substantially on line 2-2of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a substantially completed packagewrapped and sealed in accordance with the present invention.

Referring particularly to Figure 1, reference numeral I indicates aWrapping and packing table braced by suitable standards 2. Suitablysecured upon table top I are a plurality of frankfurter-holding trays 3and 4. Also mounted upon table I is a scale housing indicated generallyby the numeral 5.

Scale 5 includes a weighing pan 6 having a bottom I. and side and endwalls 8 and 9, respectively. As best seen in Figure 2, a cradle orsupporting member I having a spring II associated therewith is disposedwithin the four walls defining well-like pan 6. As will be obvious froman inspection of this figure, cradle Ill is adapted to be moveddownwardly against the action of spring I I when pressure is applied tothe cradle. Scale pan 6 also has a projecting lip. I2 to limit theupward movement of the cradle. The upper portion of cradle I0 is cutaway as at I3 for a purpose" to be later described.

Sealing element I4 heated by any suitable source of electric current asat I5 is pivotally mounted on bar I6 rigidly secured to a pair ofuprights I! which pass through suitable openings in supporting bracketI8 rigidly secured to table I. A pair of compression springs I9 mountedon uprights H, in conjunction with a suitable washer or lug (not shown)located on each of the uprights, serves to support the uprights in anupstanding position and thus to also provide for flexibility of movementof sealing element I4. Foot treadle 2B and link 2 I, secured to treadle20 as at 22 and at its upper end being pivotally secured as at 23 tosupporting member 24 of sealing element I4, serve to draw heat sealer I4swinging on its pivotal mounting downwardly from the position shown indotted lines to the position shown in full lines in Figure 2 for thesealing operation. As will be obvious from an inspection of thedrawings, the sealing means is so mounted that supporting member 24passes between U-shaped cut-away portion I3 of cradle It so that theface of heater I4 will always be parallel to the face of the articlebeing heat sealed.

Spring 25 connected to link 2| as at 25 and at its opposite end to bar21 as at 28, which bar is rigidly secured to supporting bracket I8,serves to raise sealing element I4 back to its upright position whenpressure is released on foot treadle 2B. A pair of hand manipulatablesealing irons 29, heated by any suitable source of electric current asat 30, is disposed within a pair of holding elements 3I mounted adjacentto scale pan 6.

A supply of heat-sealable cellophane sheets 32, or other similartransparent heat-sealable wrapping material of the type conventionallyused for the packaging of food products, is placed immediately in frontof scale pan 6 for easy reach by the operator and is held in place byspring clip 33. A pair of holders 34 is provided for holding a supply ofrelatively stifi cardboard inserts (not shown) for use in packaging theproduct. Bracket 35 is provided for holding a shipping container (notshown) so that the wrapped and sealed food packages may be placedtherein.

In operation, the scale is initially balanced so that no weightindication is produced on the scale dial. The operator placestransparent sheet 32, of sufficient size to completely enclose a poundof frankfurters, for example, on scale pan 6 and cradle Ill. The propernumber of frankfurters 36 is selected from holding trays 3 and 4 andneatly arranged on the wrappers so that no further rearrangement isnecessary except to interchange links as necessary to obtain the desiredWeight. The sides of the transparent sheet 32 are folded tightly inoverlapping relationship across the top of the package as clearly shownin Figure 2. The operator steps on foot treadle 20 which, through thelinkage mechanism previously described, draws heat-sealing element I4down against the overlapped portions of the wrapper and the heat seal ismade. Downward pressure is continued so that the frankfurters and theWrapper are pushed down with cradle 10 against the action of spring I Iwhereby the package passes within the four walls defining scale pan 6.In passing down between the walls of the scale pan, the extending endportions of the sheet are wiped tightly up over the ends of thefrankfurters; and after the frankfurters are pushed downwardly withcradle 10 until the lower face of heater I4 is parallel with the uppersurface of scale pan 6, heaters 29 are picked up by the operator and arewiped inwardly over the ends of the package toward heater l4 so that theend flaps of the wrapper are heat sealed as shown at 31 in Figure 3.Obviously, the operator may apply any type of conventional sealing tapeto these end flaps when the package is held in the receptacle by sealer14 if so desired. As soon as the sealing is completed, the heaters 29are replaced in their respective holders 3i, and the treadle 20 isreleased so that heater I 4 returns to the dotted-line position shown inFigure 2. The spring [5 then forces cradle l0 upwardly so that thecompleted package may be removed from the machine. Thereafter, thepackages are placed in a shipping container located on a bracket 35.

The present invention has been devised for facilitating packaging, andthe machine has been designed for the most efl'icient motions for handpackaging of small, generally cylindrical articles such as frankfurtersand the like though obviously the invention is not limited thereto.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention ashereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed asare indicated in the appended claims.

We claim:

I. In combination with a weighing scale means for weighing and wrappinga plurality of articles comprising a well having bottom, side, and endwalls, a package-supporting member having a spring affixed thereto, saidspring resting on the bottom of said well whereby the weight of thepackage is transmitted to said scale, a pivotallymounted heat sealer,and means for moving said heat sealer into engagement with the top ofsaid package for heat sealing the said portions of a wrapper therearoundand for further moving said heat sealer to depress the package into saidwell whereby the walls of the well wipe the extending end portions ofsaid wrapper over the end of the package.

2. A wrapping and sealing apparatus for use in combination with aweighing scale, comprising a support, a scale pan, a package-supportingmember, a compressible element yieldably supporting saidpackage-supporting member near the top of said pan, 2. pivotedheat-sealing unit mounted on said support above said packagesupportingmember, means for moving said sealing unit into engagement with apackage carried by said package-supporting member to partially sealportions of a wrapper therearound and for further depressing saidsealing unit into the interior of said scale pan against the action ofsaid compressible element whereby the walls of said pan wipe theunsealed portions of said wrapper upwardly over the package for furthersealing the package.

3. In an apparatus for weighing, wrapping, and sealing a package ofarticles, the combination comprising a pan supported on a scaleplatform, a package-supporting member mounted on a spring in said panwhereby the weight of the article on said member is transmitted to saidscale, a heat-sealing unit pivotally-mounted above said member, meansfor moving said heat sealing unit into engagement with said package toseal side portions of the wrapper therearound and for further depressingthe package into the interior of said pan against the action of saidspring whereby the walls of said pan serve to wipe the end portions ofthe wrapper over the ends of said package and movable heat-sealing meanspositioned laterally of said package for sealing the ends of thepackage.

THOMAS J. C. CHAPMAN. HARRY G. HOL'IZ. BRANDON S. JENISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,121,155 Armstrong Dec. 15, 19141,217,694 Bracy Feb. 27, 1917 1,530,977 Brady Mar. 24, 1925 1,557,574Ferguson Oct. 20, 1925 1,710,386 Taylor Apr. 23, 1929 1,987,185 DixonJan. 8, 1935 2,076,291 Bodor Apr. 6, 1937 2,171,459 Thompson Aug. 29,1939 2,283,097 Sandberg May 12, 1942 2,302,846 Farmer Nov. 24, 19422,526,824 May Oct. 24, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 279,170Great Britain Oct. 24, 1927 20,548 Great Britain of 1914

